Requests may be made via facsimile to (202) 898-8778,
through the Electronic FOIA Office on the FDIC web site, via
direct e-mail to efoia@fdic.gov, in writing
to the address in Section 1(C) above.

A. Names,
addresses and telephone numbers of all individual agency
components and offices that receive FOIA
requests.
All requests are routed through and processed by the
FDIC's Office of the Executive Secretary, located at
the address listed in Section 1(C) of this report.

B. Brief
description of the agency's response-time
ranges.
Response times are from 1 day up to greater than six months
in rare cases.

C. Brief
description of why some requests are not
granted.
Requests are denied or partially denied primarily under
FOIA exemptions (b)(4), (b)(5), (b)(6) and (b)(8). Because
the FDIC is a federal financial institution regulatory
agency as well as the appointed receiver of virtually all
failed financial institutions in the U.S., FDIC receives
much privileged or private financial information concerning
individuals, banking and business entities. Therefore,
exemptions (b)(4) and (b)(6) are used frequently to
withhold this exempt material. Other exemptions are used
less frequently, and records sometimes cannot be
located.

III. Definitions of Terms
and Acronyms Used in the Report (to be included in each
report)

A.
Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.
None.

B. Basic terms
expressed in common terminology.
1. FOIA/PA request -- Freedom of
Information Act/Privacy Act request. A FOIA request is
generally a request for access to records concerning a
third party, an organization, or a particular topic of
interest. A Privacy Act request is a request for records
concerning oneself; such requests are also treated as FOIA
requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless
of which law is cited by the requester, are included in
this report.)
2. Initial Request -- a request to a
federal agency for access to records under the Freedom of
Information Act.
3. Appeal -- a request to a federal
agency asking that it review at a higher administrative
level a full denial or partial denial of access to records
under the Freedom of Information Act, or any other FOIA
determination such as a matter pertaining to fees.
4. Processed Request or Appeal -- a
request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final
action on the request or the appeal in all respects.
5. Multi-track processing -- a system in
which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review
are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and
complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks.
Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first
out basis. A requester who has an urgent need for records
may request expedited processing (see below).
6. Expedited processing -- an agency will
process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a
requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the
records which warrants prioritization of his or her request
over other requests that were made earlier.
7. Simple request -- a FOIA request that
an agency using multi-track processing places in its
fastest (non-expedited) track based on the volume and/or
simplicity of records requested.
8. Complex request -- a FOIA request that
an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower
track based on the volume and/or complexity of records
requested.
9. Grant -- an agency decision to
disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.
10. Partial grant -- an agency decision
to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request,
deleting information determined to be exempt under one or
more of the FOIA's exemptions; or a decision to
disclose some records in their entireties, but to withhold
others in whole or in part.
11. Denial -- an agency decision not to
release any part of a record or records in response to a
FOIA request because all the information in the requested
records is determined by the agency to be exempt under one
or more of the FOIA's exemptions, or for some
procedural reason (such as because no record is located in
response to a FOIA request).
12. Time limits -- the time period in the
Freedom of Information Act for an agency to respond to a
FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper
receipt of a "perfected" FOIA request).
13. "Perfected" request --a
FOIA request for records which adequately describes the
records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office
of the agency or agency component in possession of the
records, and for which there is no remaining question about
the payment of applicable fees.
14. Exemption 3 statute -- a separate
federal statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain
type of information and authorizing its with holding under
FOIA subsection (b)(3).
15. Median number -- the middle, not
average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median
number is 7.
16. Average number -- the number obtained
by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity
of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the
average number is 8.

IV. Exemption 3
Statutes

A. List of
Exemption 3 statutes relied on by agency during current
fiscal year.
The FDIC did not use Exemption 3 during this fiscal
year.

V. Initial FOIA/PA Access
Requests

A. Numbers of
initial requests (The total of the numbers in Lines 1 and
2, minus the number in Line 3, should equal the number in
Line 4).
1. Number of requests pending as of end of preceding
fiscal year: 147
2. Number of requests received during current fiscal year:
921
3. Number of requests processed during current fiscal
year: 951
4. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal
year: 117

B. Disposition of
initial requests.
1. Number of total grants: 574
2. Number of partial grants: 183
3. Number of denials: 43
(See § V(B)(4)(c) infra for requests withdrawn by the
requester)

(a) the number of times each FOIA exemption used
(counting each exemption once per request).

A. Median
processing time for requests processed during the
year.
1. Simple Requests.

(a) total number of requests processed: 951
(b) median number of days to process: 37 calendar days

2. Complex requests (specify for any and all tracks used).

The FDIC's FOIA regulations do not differentiate
between simple and complex FOIA requests. They do,
however, differentiate among fast-track, normal
processing and expedited processing (when asked for by
news media or a party whose health or physical safety is
in danger) of requests. Accordingly, many of the requests
encompassed in Section VII A 1 above are requests that
are voluminous or complex.

3. Requests accorded expedited processing.

(a) number of requests accorded expedited processing: 35
(b) median number of days to process: 56 calendar days
Many of these requests were complex matters requiring
great attention to detail, the tasking of multiple
Offices and Divisions of the FDIC, and much redaction and
review time. Many of the responsive records were also
located in remote field sites. Because of the FDIC's
customary diligence in dealing with members of the news
media, most of these requesters were issued partial
responses as soon as some of the records became
available. Interim responses were accomplished in far
fewer days than the overall elapsed processing time.

B. Status of
pending requests.
1. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal
year: 117
2. Median number of days that such requests were pending
as of that date: 35 calendar days

C. Comparison of
median number of days open requests had been pending as of
the end of the fiscal year.
Prior Reporting Period: 50 calendar days
Current Reporting Period: 35 calendar days

D. Other
statistics significant to agency:
Open FOIA requests were reduced from 147 at the beginning
of the fiscal year, to 117 at the end of the fiscal year,
and requests more than six months old were reduced to 56%
of the level pending at the end of the immediately prior
reporting period. Requests greater than six months old have
had a steady decline at the FDIC since January 1996, when
the FDIC experienced a high of 294 such requests (many of
these came from the Resolution Trust Corporation, which
sunset on 12/31/95 and whose operations were assumed by the
FDIC), down to 10 such requests at the end of this
reporting period. Due to the gains in productivity from the
implementation of FDIC's fast-track FOIA processing
program, the FDIC has closed more FOIA requests in shorter
time periods than during the previous reporting year.

E. Other
narrative statements describing agency efforts to improve
timeliness of FOIA performance and to make records
available to the public (e.g., backlog-reduction efforts;
specification of average number of hours per processed
request; training activities; public availability of new
categories of records)
The FDIC undertakes detailed quarterly analyses of
outstanding and closed FOIA requests. The results of these
analyses are disseminated among top management of the FDIC
in order for them to track the progress of processing FOIA
requests within the various components of the agency.

The number of requests received on the FDIC's web
site has increased steadily, and the FDIC has posted a
great deal of information directly on the web site, such as
records concerning Y2K readiness, FDIC enforcement actions,
and information concerning FDIC member banks. The on-line
agency FOIA Guide also helps requesters to better target
their requests and includes links to the FDIC's FOIA
regulation, the Justice Department's Guide to the FOIA,
and popular FOIA records. During this fiscal year, the
FDIC's Senior Attorney in charge of the agency's
FOIA program conducted two formal training sessions on the
FOIA and the Privacy Act for agency employees who work on
these issues. Each training session was 1 1/2 hours plus Q
& A and included an audience of 35 - 50 FDIC employees.
An additional third training session was conducted at
FDIC's Northeast Service Center in Hartford,
Connecticut on October 7, 1998. This was a half day session
conducted jointly by the FDIC's Senior FOIA Attorney
and the Office of Information and Privacy.

The FOIA program was the subject of a 1999 evaluation by
the FDIC's Office of the Inspector General (OIG). While
the evaluation report made some suggestions for improvement
in FDIC's FOIA program, the report also stated that the
FDIC had made significant progress in reducing its backlog
of outstanding FOIA requests from over 700 in 1996 to 150
at the time of the report's completion (and down to 117
as of the end of the current reporting period). The FOIA
Unit has taken action on nearly all of the recommendations
in the OIG evaluation, including increased communications
with FOIA requesters, improved internal reporting
procedures and eliminating the 12-month old category of
requests. The OIG responded again to the FOIA Unit by
stating that the evaluation staff was quite pleased with
the actions taken by the FOIA Unit to increase the
efficiency of FOIA operations.

The FOIA program has also been targeted within the FDIC
to help implement the FDIC's Knowledge Management (KM)
Program. The KM program will assist the FDIC in creating,
maintaining, and archiving agency records in electronic
formats, and may lead to more increased efficiency in the
operation of the FDIC's FOIA program. The FOIA
application of the KM program is in the design stage, with
FOIA staff and management currently reviewing on-screen
options in a mock-up model.

Even prior to the testing of the KM FOIA application,
the FOIA Unit initiated electronic transmission of all FOIA
requests to the Divisions and Offices where responsive
records may be located. This has helped to increase the
FDIC's efficiency in the processing of FOIA requests by
placing the requests immediately with staff who likely have
custody of responsive records. FDIC's preliminary
assessments show that this practice reduces overall
response time by one to two business days.

IX. Costs/FOIA
Staffing

A. Staffing
levels.
1. Number of full-time FOIA personnel: 10
2. Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA
duties (in total work-years): 8.4
3. Total number of personnel (in work-years): 18.4

§ 309.4
Publicly available records.
(a) Records available on the FDIC's World Wide Web
page--

(1) Discretionary release of documents. The FDIC
encourages the public to explore the wealth of resources
available on the FDIC's World Wide Web page, located
at: http://www.fdic.gov. The FDIC has elected to publish
a broad range of materials on its World Wide Web page,
including consumer guides; financial and statistical
information of interest to the banking industry; and
information concerning the FDIC's responsibilities
and structure.
(2) Documents required to be made available via computer
telecommunications.

(i) The following types of documents created on or
after November 1, 1996, and required to be made
available through computer telecommunications, may be
found on the FDIC's World Wide Web page located at:
http://www.fdic.gov:

(A) Final opinions, including concurring and
dissenting opinions, as well as final orders and
written agreements, made in the adjudication of
cases;
(B) Statements of policy and interpretations adopted
by the Board of Directors that are not published in
the Federal Register;
(C) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to
staff that affect the public;
(D) Copies of all records released to any person
under § 309.5 that, because of the nature of
their subject matter, the FDIC has determined are
likely to be the subject of subsequent requests;
(E) A general index of the records referred to in
paragraph (a)(2)(i)(D) of this section.

(ii) To the extent permitted by law, the FDIC may
delete identifying details when it makes available or
publishes a final opinion, final order, statement of
policy, interpretation or staff manual or instruction.
If redaction is necessary, the FDIC will, to the extent
technically feasible, indicate the amount of material
deleted at the place in the record where such deletion
is made unless that indication in and of itself will
jeopardize the purpose for the redaction.

(b) Public Information Center. The FDIC maintains a Public
Information Center or "PIC" that contains
Corporate records that the Freedom of Information Act
requires be made available for regular inspection and
copying, as well as any records or information the FDIC, in
its discretion, has regularly made available to the public.
The PIC has extensive materials of interest to the public,
including many Reports, Summaries and Manuals used or
published by the Corporation that are available for
inspection and copying. The PIC is open from 9:00 AM to
5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, excepting federal holidays.
It is located at 801 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20006. The PIC may be reached during business hours by
calling (800) 276-6003.
(c) Applicable fees.

(i) If applicable, fees for furnishing records under this
section are as set forth in § 309.5(f) except that
all categories of requesters shall be charged duplication
costs.
(ii) Information on the FDIC's World Wide Web page
is available to the public without charge. If, however,
information available on the FDIC's World Wide Web
page is provided pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act
request processed under § 309.5, then fees apply and
will be assessed pursuant to § 309.5(f).

§ 309.5
Procedures for requesting records.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) Commercial use request means a request from or on
behalf of a requester who seeks records for a use or
purpose that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit
interests of the requester or the person on whose behalf
the request is made. In determining whether a request
falls within this category, the FDIC will determine the
use to which a requester will put the records requested
and seek additional information as it deems necessary.
(2) Direct costs means those expenditures the FDIC
actually incurs in searching for, duplicating, and, in
the case of commercial requesters, reviewing records in
response to a request for records.
(3) Duplication means the process of making a copy of a
record necessary to respond to a request for records or
for inspection of original records that contain exempt
material or that cannot otherwise be directly inspected.
Such copies can take the form of paper copy, microfilm,
audiovisual records, or machine readable records (e.g.,
magnetic tape or computer disk).
(4) Educational institution means a preschool, a public
or private elementary or secondary school, an institution
of undergraduate or graduate higher education, an
institution of professional education, and an institution
of vocational education, which operates a program or
programs of scholarly research.
(5) Noncommercial scientific institution means an
institution that is not operated on a commercial basis as
that term is defined in paragraph (a)(1) of this section,
and which is operated solely for the purpose of
conducting scientific research, the results of which are
not intended to promote any particular product or
industry.
(6) Representative of the news media means any person
primarily engaged in gathering news for, or a free-lance
journalist who can demonstrate a reasonable expectation
of having his or her work product published or broadcast
by, an entity that is organized and operated to publish
or broadcast news to the public. The term news means
information that is about current events or that would be
of current interest to the general public.
(7) Review means the process of examining records
located in response to a request for records to determine
whether any portion of any record is permitted to be
withheld as exempt information. It includes processing
any record for disclosure, e.g., doing all that is
necessary to excise them or otherwise prepare them for
release.
(8) Search includes all time spent looking for material
that is responsive to a request, including page-by-page
or line-by-line identification of material within
records. Searches may be done manually and/or by computer
using existing programming.

(b) Making a request for records.

(1) The request shall be submitted in writing to the
Office of the Executive Secretary:

(i) By completing the online request form located on
the FDIC's World Wide Web page, found at:
http://www.fdic.gov;
(ii) By facsimile clearly marked Freedom of
Information Act Request to (202) 898-8778; or
(iii) By sending a letter to the Office of the
Executive Secretary, ATTN: FOIA/PA Unit, 550 17th
Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20429.

(2) The request shall contain the following information:

(i) The name and address of the requester, an
electronic mail address, if available, and the
telephone number at which the requester may be reached
during normal business hours;
(ii) Whether the requester is an educational
institution, noncommercial scientific institution, or
news media representative; (iii) A statement agreeing
to pay the applicable fees, or a statement identifying
a maximum fee that is acceptable to the requester, or a
request for a waiver or reduction of fees that
satisfies paragraph (f)(1)(x) of this section; and
(iv) The preferred form and format of any responsive
information requested, if other than paper copies.

(3) A request for identifiable records shall reasonably
describe the records in a way that enables the FDIC's
staff to identify and produce the records with reasonable
effort and without unduly burdening or significantly
interfering with any of the FDIC's operations.

(c) Defective requests. The FDIC need not accept or process
a request that does not reasonably describe the records
requested or that does not otherwise comply with the
requirements of this part. The FDIC may return a defective
request, specifying the deficiency. The requester may
submit a corrected request, which will be treated as a new
request.
(d) Processing requests.--

(1) Receipt of requests. Upon receipt of any request that
satisfies paragraph (b) of this section, the FOIA/PA
Unit, Office of the Executive Secretary, shall assign the
request to the appropriate processing track pursuant to
this section. The date of receipt for any request,
including one that is addressed incorrectly or that is
referred by another agency, is the date the Office of the
Executive Secretary actually receives the request.
(2) Multitrack processing. (i) The FDIC provides
different levels of processing for categories of requests
under this part. Requests for records that are readily
identifiable by the Office of the Executive Secretary and
that have already been cleared for public release may
qualify for fast-track processing. All other requests
shall be handled under normal processing procedures,
unless expedited processing has been granted pursuant to
paragraph (d)(3) of this section. (ii) The FDIC will make
the determination whether a request qualifies for
fast-track processing. A requester may contact the
FOIA/PA Unit to learn whether a particular request has
been assigned to fast-track processing. If the request
has not qualified for fast-track processing, the
requester will be given an opportunity to refine the
request in order to qualify for fast-track processing.
Changes made to requests to obtain faster processing must
be in writing.
(3) Expedited processing. (i) Where a person requesting
expedited access to records has demonstrated a compelling
need for the records, or where the FDIC has determined to
expedite the response, the FDIC shall process the request
as soon as practicable. To show a compelling need for
expedited processing, the requester shall provide a
statement demonstrating that: (A) The failure to obtain
the records on an expedited basis could reasonably be
expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or
physical safety of an individual; or (B) The requester
can establish that they are primarily engaged in
information dissemination as their main professional
occupation or activity, and there is urgency to inform
the public of the government activity involved in the
request; and (C) The requester's statement must be
certified to be true and correct to the best of the
person's knowledge and belief and explain in detail
the basis for requesting expedited processing. (ii) The
formality of the certification required to obtain
expedited treatment may be waived by the FDIC as a matter
of administrative discretion.
(4) A requester seeking expedited processing will be
notified whether expedited processing has been granted
within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the
request. If the request for expedited processing is
denied, the requester may file an appeal pursuant to the
procedures set forth in paragraph (h) of this section,
and the FDIC shall respond to the appeal within ten (10)
working days after receipt of the appeal.
(5) Priority of responses. Consistent with sound
administrative process the FDIC processes requests in the
order they are received in the separate processing
tracks. However, in the agency's discretion, or upon
a court order in a matter to which the FDIC is a party, a
particular request may be processed out of turn.
(6) Notification.

(i) The time for response to requests will be twenty
(20) working days except: (A) In the case of expedited
treatment under paragraph (d)(3) of this section; (B)
Where the running of such time is suspended for the
calculation of a cost estimate for the requester if the
FDIC determines that the processing of the request may
exceed the requester's maximum fee provision or if
the charges are likely to exceed $250 as provided for
in paragraph (f)(1)(v) of this section; (C) Where the
running of such time is suspended for the payment of
fees pursuant to the paragraphs (d)(6)(i)(B) and (f)(1)
of this section; or (D) In unusual circumstances, as
defined in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B) and further described
in paragraph (d)(6)(iii) of this section.
(ii) In unusual circumstances as referred to in
paragraph (d)(6)(i)(D) of this section, the time limit
may be extended for a period of: (A) Ten (10) working
days as provided by written notice to the requester,
setting forth the reasons for the extension and the
date on which a determination is expected to be
dispatched; or (B) Such alternative time period as
agreed to by the requester or as reasonably determined
by the FDIC when the FDIC notifies the requester that
the request cannot be processed in the specified time
limit.
(iii) Unusual circumstances may arise when: (A) The
records are in facilities, such as field offices or
storage centers, that are not located at the FDIC's
Washington office; (B) The records requested are
voluminous or are not in close proximity to one
another; or (C) There is a need to consult with another
agency or among two or more components of the FDIC
having a substantial interest in the determination.

(7) Response to request. In response to a request that
satisfies the requirements of paragraph (b) of this
section, a search shall be conducted of records
maintained by the FDIC in existence on the date of
receipt of the request, and a review made of any
responsive information located. The FDIC shall notify the
requester of:

(i) The FDIC's determination of the request;
(ii) The reasons for the determination;

In accordance with 12 C.F.R. § 309.5(f), the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation hereby sets forth the
fees to be charged for the production of agency records.
These fees will be effective for requests submitted no less
than thirty days from the above date of issuance. Persons
requesting records from the FDIC shall be charged for the
direct costs of search, review and duplication as set forth
at 12 C.F.R. § 309.5(f), unless such costs are less
than $10.00.